Welcome to the history of the modern heroic age as reflected
through the media of the time. This site aims to give the reader a brief summary
of the significant events concerning super-heroes that have occurred over the
past sixty years. The history has been divided into parts that the author best
feels reflect a grouping of related significant events in the history of
super-heroes.

Part One of the history is dedicated to the period known as
the Golden Age. Beginning in the late 1930's, the Golden Age covers the period
that saw the first appearance of what we would classify today as metahumans or
super-heroes, but were referred to at the time as Mystery Men (a decidedly sexist
term, especially considering the number of female metahumans that served as
members of the wartime All-Star Squadron). Pictured below is a magazine cover portraying the Justice Society,
the most significant super-hero team of this period, accompanied by a brief
commentary. This period, which officially begins in 1938 with the appearance of
the first masked crime-fighter, the Crimson Avenger, and ends with the
dissolution of the Justice Society in 1952, is commonly referred to as the Golden
Age. To see a larger version of the magazine cover double-click the picture to
the left of the article. To view additional information click the book icon
associated with the article.

The Justice Society of America:

The Justice Society was the first super-hero team of the modern heroic
age, its membership included many of the more prominent Mystery Men (and
Women) of the time, and served as an inspiration for today's Justice
League. The team was born in 1940, when a British secret agent, acting
with the full authority of the top Allied commanders, asked the original
Flash and the original Green Lantern to travel to Scotland to oppose a
planned Nazi invasion. To this day, the Allied powers have refused to
reveal the details of exactly what happened during the Scottish mission,
although it is known that the Green Lantern and the Flash were somehow
joined by the Sandman, the original Atom, the original Hawkman, Doctor
Fate, the original Hourman, and the Spectre. After this the same group of
mystery men thwarted an attempt to assassinate President Franklin D.
Roosevelt just a few days later. Roosevelt proposed that the heroes
continue to work as a team, giving birth to the Justice Society of
America. The Flash chaired the JSA's first meeting, during which Hawkman
was elected the JSA's chairman, a position he held until the JSA disbanded
in 1952.

During the war the JSA was renamed the Justice Battalion and placed
themselves under the command of the War Department. The Justice Battalion
defended American factories from Nazi saboteurs and battled Axis spies.
The group formed the backbone of the All-Star Squadron in 1941. The JSA
formally disbanded in 1952 after being subpoenaed to appear before the
Joint Congressional Un-American Activities Committee. When the committee
demanded the Justice Society members reveal their secret identities if
they wanted to be considered "good Americans," the JSA refused
and went into retirement, literally vanishing before the committee
members' eyes. The JSA would not be seen again until after the formation
of the Justice League almost fifty years later, whom the JSA occasionally
came out of retirement to help against world-threatening menaces. Today
there is a new Justice Society of America made up of younger heroes
trained and inspired by their predecessors from the original team.